Deportivo Alavés

Deportivo Alavés, S.A.D. (Spanish pronunciation: [depoɾˈtiβo alaˈβes]; Sporting Alavés), usually abbreviated to Alavés, is a Spanish football club based in Vitoria-Gasteiz, Álava, in the autonomous community of the Basque Country. Founded on 1 July 1920 as Sport Friends Club, it plays in the highest football category of The Liga Nacional de Fútbol Profesional, La Liga, since the 2016–17 season.

Deportivo Alavés

Full name	Deportivo Alavés, S.A.D.
Nickname(s)	Babazorros El Glorioso (The glorious one)
Founded	23 January 1921
Ground	Mendizorrotza
Capacity	19,840[1]
Owner	Saski Baskonia (70.44%) José Antonio Querejeta (6.4%)
President	Alfonso Fernández de Trocóniz
Head coach	Abelardo Fernández
League	La Liga
2019–20	La Liga, 16th of 20
Website	Club website
Home colours Away colours Third colours

It is recognized as the third most successful team in the Basque Country following Athletic Club of Bilbao and Real Sociedad de Futbol of San Sebastián. Its biggest success was in 2001 when, in the year of its debut in European competition, it was one of the finalists in the 2001 UEFA Cup Final against Liverpool, being defeated 5–4 by golden goal. In 2017, the club reached the final of the Copa del Rey, losing out 3–1 to Barcelona.[2]

The team's home kit is blue and white-striped shirt, blue shorts and white socks. It holds home matches at the 19,840-seater Mendizorrotza Stadium[3] and uses other facilities located in Ibaia dedicated to training.

History

Founded in 1920 the initial name of the club was Sport Friends, but on 23 January 1921 the name was changed to the current one, and this is considered the official foundation date.[4] Alavés was the first club to win promotion from the Segunda División to La Liga in 1929–30, a stint which would last three years. In its first season in Primera División Alavés finished 8th from 10 teams, just 1 point away from being relegated.[5]

In 1953–54 the club would reach the top league again for a two-year spell. With Roman Galarraga as a coach, the club reached long-awaited promotion to Segunda División in the 1973–74 season.[4] In June 1983, after having avoided the relegation in the previous season, Alavés went down to Segunda División B, where remained until the 1985–86 campaign.[6] After years of seriously facing disappearance which lasted well into the 1990s (playing in the fourth tier during the late 1980s), Alavés finally achieved a promotion back into the Segunda División in 1994–95 after two consecutive years of winning their group in Segunda División B – created as the new third level in 1977 – but failing in the promotion play-offs.

After winning the Segunda División in 1997–98,[7] Alavés returned to the top level after a 42-year hiatus. Following their return season in which they escaped relegation by a single point, they achieved two wins against Barcelona in the following campaign and would qualify for the UEFA Cup for the first time upon finishing sixth (to date, their highest-ever placing, coming just 12 years after their lowest-ever: eighth in their group in the fourth level).

Lineups of the 2001 UEFA Cup Final between Liverpool and Alavés.

As well as concluding the domestic campaign in tenth position, in 2000–01 the Basque club reached the final of the UEFA Cup after beating Internazionale,[8] Rayo Vallecano and 1. FC Kaiserslautern, the latter in a crushing 9–2 aggregate victory.[9] The final ended in a 4–5 loss against Liverpool, Alavés losing to an "own-golden goal" after taking the match to extra time. The match also featured two red cards and two disallowed goals in extra time in addition to the nine goals which did count, and has been described by some observers as one of the greatest showpiece games in the competition's history.[10]

Alavés ended 2001–02 in seventh position and qualified for the UEFA Cup for a second time, although the European campaign of 2002–03 was far less successful than two years earlier, with an opening win over Ankaragücü followed by a defeat to another Turkish Süper Lig side, Beşiktaş. On 26 January 2003, the club celebrated their 100th win in La Liga after defeating Real Valladolid 3–1.

Although Alavés were relegated after 2002–03, they regained top flight status two years later.[9] In this time, Alavés was bought by Ukrainian–American businessman Dmitry Pietrman, and several clashes followed with the club's coaches, players[11] and fans alike.[12] The top-division return only lasted one season as the club went through three head coaches and finished in 18th position, one point from safety. Piterman departed in 2007, leaving the club deep in debt after his tenure. After two years of battling against relegation to the third level, Alavés eventually succumbed in 2008–09.

A subsequent black period in Segunda B lasted four years until Alavés was bought by José Antonio Querejeta[13] and were promoted again to the second division in 2013 as overall champions of the third tier, providing an opportunity to sort out its economic difficulties. Three years later, on 29 May 2016, Alavés was promoted to La Liga as second tier champions after beating Numancia 2–0 to overtake Leganés on the final day.

Deportivo de La Coruña vs. Alavés.

On 10 September 2016, Alavés got their first win of their return season in La Liga by defeating defending La Liga champions Barcelona 2–1 at the Camp Nou.[14] On 7 February 2017, Alavés qualified for the 2017 Copa del Rey Final after eliminating Celta de Vigo in the semi-finals of the competition. This was the first time in their history that the club had qualified for the final of the national cup, their previous best being the semi-finals in 1998 and 2004. Their opponents in the final would be Barcelona, and coincidentally the two clubs met in the league directly after their cup semi-finals; the Catalans inflicted a 6–0 defeat on Alavés in their own Mendizorrotza Stadium, exacting revenge for the result earlier in the season.[15] Barcelona also won the final, held at the Estadio Vicente Calderón with a 3–1 scoreline,[16] meaning there would be no return to European competition for Alavés. In the La Liga that season Alavés finished 9th with 14 wins, 13 draws and 11 losses.[17]

Seasons

Season to season

Season Tier Division Place Copa del Rey 1929 2 2ª 3rd Round of 16 1929–30 2 2ª 1st Quarterfinals 1930–31 1 1ª 8th Round of 16 1931–32 1 1ª 9th Quarterfinals 1932–33 1 1ª 10th 1933–34 2 2ª 10th 1939–40 2 2ª 8th Round of 16 1940–41 3 3ª 1st Second round 1941–42 2 2ª 3rd 1942–43 2 2ª 8th Round of 16 1943–44 3 3ª 2nd Fifth round 1944–45 3 3ª 3rd Round of 16 1945–46 3 3ª 5th 1946–47 3 3ª 7th 1947–48 3 3ª 10th Third round 1948–49 3 3ª 12th First round 1949–50 3 3ª 10th 1950–51 3 3ª 2nd 1951–52 2 2ª 9th 1952–53 2 2ª 4th Round of 16

Season Tier Division Place Copa del Rey 1953–54 2 2ª 1st Round of 16 1954–55 1 1ª 10th Round of 16 1955–56 1 1ª 14th 1956–57 2 2ª 5th 1957–58 2 2ª 7th 1958–59 2 2ª 13th First round 1959–60 2 2ª 13th First round 1960–61 3 3ª 1st 1961–62 2 2ª 4th Round of 16 1962–63 2 2ª 8th Round of 16 1963–64 2 2ª 16th Round of 16 1964–65 3 3ª 1st 1965–66 3 3ª 3rd 1966–67 3 3ª 7th 1967–68 3 3ª 1st 1968–69 2 2ª 14th 1969–70 3 3ª 9th First round 1970–71 4 Regional 1st 1971–72 3 3ª 7th First round 1972–73 3 3ª 3rd Second round

Season Tier Division Place Copa del Rey 1973–74 3 3ª 1st Second round 1974–75 2 2ª 16th Third round 1975–76 2 2ª 15th Second round 1976–77 2 2ª 8th Second round 1977–78 2 2ª 11th Quarterfinals 1978–79 2 2ª 9th Quarterfinals 1979–80 2 2ª 9th Round of 16 1980–81 2 2ª 8th Round of 16 1981–82 2 2ª 17th Third round 1982–83 2 2ª 17th 1983–84 3 2ªB 3rd Second round 1984–85 3 2ªB 3rd Third round 1985–86 3 2ªB 5th Second round 1986–87 4 3ª 7th First round 1987–88 4 3ª 8th 1988–89 4 3ª 2nd 1989–90 4 3ª 1st 1990–91 3 2ªB 2nd Second round 1991–92 3 2ªB 4th Third round 1992–93 3 2ªB 1st Third round

Season Tier Division Place Copa del Rey 1993–94 3 2ªB 1st Third round 1994–95 3 2ªB 1st First round 1995–96 2 2ª 7th Second round 1996–97 2 2ª 13th Second round 1997–98 2 2ª 1st Semifinals 1998–99 1 1ª 16th Third round 1999–00 1 1ª 6th Round of 16 2000–01 1 1ª 10th Round of 32 2001–02 1 1ª 7th Round of 16 2002–03 1 1ª 19th Round of 16 2003–04 2 2ª 4th Semifinals 2004–05 2 2ª 3rd Round of 32 2005–06 1 1ª 18th Third round 2006–07 2 2ª 17th Round of 16 2007–08 2 2ª 17th Third round 2008–09 2 2ª 19th Second round 2009–10 3 2ªB 5th First round 2010–11 3 2ªB 3rd First round 2011–12 3 2ªB 6th Third round 2012–13 3 2ªB 1st Round of 16

Season Tier Division Place Copa del Rey 2013–14 2 2ª 18th Third round 2014–15 2 2ª 13th Round of 32 2015–16 2 2ª 1st Third round 2016–17 1 1ª 9th Runner-up 2017–18 1 1ª 14th Quarterfinals 2018–19 1 1ª 11th Round of 32 2019–20 1 1ª 16th First round 2020–21 1 1ª

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• 16 seasons in La Liga
• 37 seasons in Segunda División
• 12 seasons in Segunda División B
• 22 seasons in Tercera División
• 1 season in Categorías Regionales

Recent seasons

Season		Pos.	Pl.	W	D	L	GS	GA	P	Cup	Europe		Notes
2008–09	2A	19	42	11	10	21	42	64	43	2nd round			Relegated
2009–10	2B1	5	38	16	14	8	45	31	62	First round
2010–11	2B2	3	38	18	12	8	63	43	66	First round			Not promoted
2011–12	2B2	6	38	14	17	7	64	39	59	Third round
2012–13	2B2	1	38	25	7	6	57	22	82	Round of 32			Promoted
2013–14	2A	18	42	13	12	17	57	57	51	Third round
2014–15	2A	13	42	14	11	17	49	53	53	Round of 32
2015–16	2A	1	42	21	12	9	49	35	75	Third round			Promoted
2016–17	1	9	38	14	13	11	41	43	55	Runners-up
2017–18	1	14	38	15	2	21	40	50	47	Quarter-finals

Players

Current squad

As of 1 February 2021[18]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player 1 GK  ESP Fernando Pacheco (3rd captain) 2 DF  ESP Tachi 3 DF  ESP Rubén Duarte 4 DF  BRA Rodrigo Ely 5 DF  ESP Víctor Laguardia (vice-captain) 6 MF  ARG Rodrigo Battaglia (on loan from Sporting CP) 7 FW  ESP Lucas Pérez 8 MF  ESP Tomás Pina 9 FW  ESP Joselu 10 FW  SWE John Guidetti 11 FW  ESP Luis Rioja 13 GK  ESP Antonio Sivera 14 FW  BRA Deyverson (on loan from Palmeiras)

No. Pos. Nation Player 16 MF  ESP Édgar Méndez 17 FW  ESP Iñigo Córdoba (on loan from Athletic Bilbao) 18 MF  ESP Burgui 19 MF  ESP Manu García (captain) 20 MF  ESP Pere Pons 21 DF  ESP Martín Aguirregabiria 22 DF  FRA Florian Lejeune (on loan from Newcastle United) 23 DF  ESP Ximo Navarro 24 MF  ESP Jota 26 DF  ESP Javi López 29 MF  ESP Borja Sainz 31 GK  ESP Aritz Castro 37 MF  URU Facundo Pellistri (on loan from Manchester United)[19]

Under contract

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player

Reserve team

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player 27 MF  ESP Sergi García 28 MF  ESP Pepe Blanco

No. Pos. Nation Player 30 DF  MTN Abdallahi Mahmoud 39 DF  CMR Stephane Paul Keller

Out on loan

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player — DF  ESP Carlos Isaac (at Albacete until 30 June 2021) — DF  ESP Einar Galilea (at Istra 1961 until 30 June 2021) — DF  BEN Olivier Verdon (at Ludogorets Razgrad until 30 June 2021) — DF  ESP Rafa Navarro (at Istra 1961 until 30 June 2021) — DF  ESP Rafa Páez (at Istra 1961 until 30 June 2021)

No. Pos. Nation Player — DF  ESP Saúl García (at Sporting Gijón until 30 June 2021) — MF  ESP Antonio Perera (at Istra 1961 until 30 June 2022) — MF  ESP Javi Muñoz (at Mirandés until 30 June 2021) — MF  PAN José Luis Rodríguez (at Lugo until 30 June 2021) — FW  ARG Ramón Miérez (at Osijek until 30 June 2021)

Honours

Domestic competitions

• Segunda División

Winners (4): 1929–30, 1953–54, 1997–98, 2015–16

• Segunda División B[lower-alpha 1]

Winners (4): 1992–93,[lower-alpha 2] 1993–94,[lower-alpha 3] 1994–95,[lower-alpha 4] 2012–13[lower-alpha 5]

• Tercera División

Winners (5):[lower-alpha 6] 1940–41,[lower-alpha 7] 1960–61,[lower-alpha 8] 1964–65,[lower-alpha 9] 1967–68,[lower-alpha 10] 1973–74[lower-alpha 11]

Winners:[lower-alpha 12] 1989–90[lower-alpha 13]

• Regional Championship[20]

Biscay Championship: 1929–30

Gipuzkoa Championship: 1938–39

• Copa Federación de España

Winners: 1945–46

• Copa del Rey

Runners-up: 2016–17

European competitions

• UEFA Cup

Runners-up: 2000–01

Notes

1. Third tier
2. Not promoted in play-offs
3. Not promoted in play-offs
4. Promoted in play-offs
5. Promoted in play-offs, overall champion of division
6. Third tier
7. Promoted in play-offs
8. Promoted in play-offs
9. Not promoted in play-offs
10. Promoted in play-offs
11. Promoted directly
12. Fourth tier
13. Promoted directly

Stadium information

Mendizorrotza stadium

• Name – Mendizorrotza
• City – Vitoria-Gasteiz
• Capacity – 19,840[21][3]
• Inauguration – 1924
• Pitch size – 105 m x 67 m
• Other facilities – El Glorioso and José Luis Compañón

Coaches

Amadeo García (1926–27) Walter Harris (1928) Ramón Encinas (1931–32) Amadeo García (1932–39) Baltasar Albéniz (1939) Francisco Gamborena (1940–41) Baltasar Albéniz (1947–48) Manuel Echezarreta (1954–56) Rafael Iriondo (1958–59) Manuel Echezarreta (1959–60) Ignacio Izagirre (1968–69) (coach) Ferenc Puskás (1968–69) (technical director) García de Andoin (1972) Koldo Aguirre (1972–73) Ignacio Eizaguirre (1975) Joseíto (1976–78)

Jesús Aranguren (1978–80) García de Andoin (1980–82) Mané (1984–85) Nando Yosu (1985–86) Luis Costa (1992–93) José Antonio Irulegui (1993–94) Jesús Aranguren (1994–97) Mané (1997–03) Jesús Aranguren (2003) Pepe Mel (2003–04) Juan Carlos Oliva (2006) Julio Bañuelos (2006) Fabri (2007) Josu Uribe (2007–08) Julio Bañuelos (2008) José María Salmerón (2008)

Manix Mandiola (2008–09) Javi López (2009) Luis de la Fuente (2011) José Carlos Granero (2011–12) Natxo González (2012–13) Juan Carlos Mandiá (2013–14) Alberto López (2014–15) José Bordalás (2015–16) Mauricio Pellegrino (2016–17) Luis Zubeldía (2017) Gianni De Biasi (2017) Abelardo (2017–19) Asier Garitano (2019–20) Pablo Machín (2020–2021) Abelardo Fernández (2021–)

Affiliated clubs

Alavés B/C

The club's primary reserve team is Deportivo Alavés B, founded in 1960 and currently playing at the amateur Tercera División level of the senior Spanish system. When that team gained promotion to Segunda División B in 2000, a further reserve side Deportivo Alavés C was formed, later partnering with local team Club San Ignacio, but the C-team was discontinued in 2005 due to the poor financial situation at the club. San Ignacio and most other teams in the vicinity of Vitoria-Gasteiz continue to operate as partner clubs of Alavés.[22][23][24][25]

California Victory

In 2007, Alavés operated a team in the USL First Division in the United States called the California Victory. The team played at Kezar Stadium in San Francisco, California, and wore the Alavés colors. However, Alavés, under new ownership, pulled its support for the club later that year, after which the Victory folded.

NK Rudeš

In May 2017, Alavés signed a ten-year partnership deal with NK Rudeš, freshly promoted Croatian First Football League club, with Rudeš acting as a feeder club to Alavés.[26] In June 2018, Deportivo Alavés and NK Rudeš ended its partnership agreement.[27]

Sochaux

In April 2018, Alavés signed an agreement with French club FC Sochaux-Montbéliard;[28] however the partnership lasted only a few months, ending abruptly in December of the same year.[29]

References

1. "Premier League v LaLiga stadiums: All 40 clubs ranked by current capacity". talkSPORT. 27 September 2017. Retrieved 24 January 2020.
2. Association, Press (27 May 2017). "Lionel Messi inspires Barcelona to Copa del Rey final triumph against William Yu Lin". the Guardian.
3. Depor, Redacción (30 November 2019). "¡Grítalo merengue! Real Madrid ganó 2–1 al Alavés por LaLiga Santander". Depor (in Spanish). Retrieved 24 January 2020.
4. "La historia del Club | Alavés – Web Oficial". La historia del Club | Alavés – Web Oficial (in Spanish). Retrieved 20 November 2019.
5. "Primera División, Temporada 1930/1931 – laliga, liga santander, la liga santander, campeonato nacional de liga de primera división, liga española". www.resultados-futbol.com. Retrieved 20 November 2019.
6. "Historia del Deportivo Alavés". Alaves – El Correo (in Spanish). Retrieved 24 January 2020.
7. "Deportivo Alavés, S.A.D. :: La Futbolteca. Enciclopedia del Fútbol Español" (in Spanish). Retrieved 24 January 2020.
8. "El Alavés incendia San Siro" [Alavés set fire to San Siro] (in Spanish). El País. 23 February 2001. Retrieved 24 February 2019.
9. Robert O'Connor (18 May 2016). "What the heck happened to Alaves after 2001?". FourFourTwo. Retrieved 24 February 2019.
10. The greatest matches of all time; The Daily Telegraph, 4 July 2007
11. Carreras denuncia el "trato vejatorio" de Piterman (Carreras denounces "vexatious treatment" by Piterman); 20 Minutos, 16 February 2006 (in Spanish)
12. Dimitri Piterman llama "subnormales" a los aficionados del Alavés (Dimitri Piterman calls Alavés' fans "morons"); 20 Minutos, 22 February 2006 (in Spanish)
13. "Querejeta compra las acciones del Alavés que tenía la familia Ortiz de Zárate" [Querejeta bought Alavés' shares that the Ortiz de Zárate family held] (in Spanish). El Correo. 29 July 2013. Retrieved 26 February 2017.
14. "Glorioso Matagigantes" [Glorious Giantkillers] (in Spanish). Marca. 10 September 2016. Retrieved 21 September 2017.
15. "Alavés 0–6 Barcelona, February 2017". BBC Sport. Retrieved 17 February 2017.
16. "Barcelona 3–1 Alavés". BBC Sport. 27 May 2017. Retrieved 21 September 2017.
17. "Primera División, Temporada 2016/2017 – laliga, liga santander, la liga santander, campeonato nacional de liga de primera división, liga española". www.resultados-futbol.com. Retrieved 20 November 2019.
18. "Deportivo Alavés Squad". www.deportivoalaves.com. Retrieved 5 October 2020.
19. Ganley, Joe (31 January 2021). "Facundo Pellistri joins Alaves on loan". ManUtd.com. Manchester United. Retrieved 31 January 2021.
20. "Spain – List of Champions of Norte". RSSSF. 21 January 2000. Retrieved 5 March 2018.
21. Mendizorrotza Stadium Archived 27 November 2013 at the Wayback Machine
22. "Clubes Convenidos" [Partner Clubs] (in Spanish). Deportivo Alavés. 1 August 2017. Retrieved 24 January 2019.
23. "CD San Ignacio y CF Adurtzabal renuevan hasta 2020 su convenio con el Deportivo Alavés" [CD San Ignacio and CF Adurtzabal renew their agreement with Deportivo Alavés until 2020] (in Spanish). C.D. San Ignacio. 9 June 2017. Retrieved 24 January 2019.
24. Javier Lekuona (25 May 2018). "El Alavés completa una gran estructura deportiva con el ascenso del San Ignacio a Tercera" [The Alavés completes a extensive sports structure with the rise of San Ignacio to Tercera]. Diario AS (in Spanish). Retrieved 24 January 2019.
25. Asier Pérez; Jorge Muñoz (18 July 2018). "El Alavés cede Ibaia al San Ignacio para su temporada en tercera" [Alavés gives Ibaia to San Ignacio for their season in Tercera]. Noticias de Álava (in Spanish). Retrieved 24 January 2019.
26. "Deportivo Alaves i NK Rudeš predstavili desetogodišnju suradnju" [Deportivo Alaves and NK Rudeš presented future ten-year cooperation] (in Croatian). Sportnet.hr. 12 May 2017. Retrieved 11 June 2017.
27. "Deportivo Alavés and NK Rudeš ends its partnership agreement". NK Rudeš. 15 June 2018. Retrieved 15 June 2018.
28. Javier Lekuona (25 April 2018). "Oficial: el Alavés firma una alianza con el Sochaux francés" [Official: El Alavés signs an alliance with the French Sochaux]. Diario AS (in Spanish). Retrieved 24 January 2019.
29. José Luis del Campo (14 December 2018). "Alavés y Sochaux separan sus caminos" [Alavés and Sochaux separate their paths]. Marca (in Spanish). Retrieved 24 January 2019.

External links

• Media related to Deportivo Alavés at Wikimedia Commons
• Official website (in Spanish)
• Alavés at La Liga (in English and Spanish)
• Alavés at UEFA (in English and Spanish)
• Club profile at BDfutbol (match reports in each season)
• Club history at El Correo(in Spanish)
• Futbolme team profile (in Spanish)
• Glorioso, unofficial website (in Spanish)
• Terra club info (in Spanish)